WD HDD Data Recovery: 6TB External Drive Restored by Stellar for Photographer

Wedding photography—a job as rewarding as it is accountable for someone who captures precious moments. We have come across a passionate wedding photographer from Hyderabad who lost all photographs and video footage stored on a 6 TB WD external HDD of a big fat wedding he covered. This is an unprecedented incident that sent him into a state of shock, as it could lead to major backlash. The article will tell you how a HDD data recovery saved a photographer’s reputation.

When the Client’s Hard Drive Failed

The client owned a 6 TB WD external HDD that suffered a physical failure. The data stored on the external HDD has become inaccessible. It also started making metal rattling noises and vibrating during use. For an independent wedding photographer, the inaccessibility of data can create a setback in business.

Wedding photos are priceless as they hold memories of a lifetime. No amount of refund can compensate for the loss. Our client understood the severity of the situation and, instead relying on local data recovery services, he reached out to Stellar Data Recovery Center, Hyderabad.

How did He Find Us?

When disaster struck, he was desperate to find a solution that would help him get back the crucial data he had lost. He approached local data recovery services, but none could assure him of complete data recovery. That’s when one of his photographer friends told him about Stellar, which made him dig into our external hard disk data recovery services.

Our Approach to The Situation

As soon as we received the device, we sent it for primary analysis. The analysis reports clearly stated physical damage. Depending on the report, the device was sent to the physical lab where data from the HDD is recovered. Our physical lab has a class 100 cleanroom— a room that is contaminant-free and maintains an optimum environment where temperature, pressure, and humidity are under control.

In our state-of-the-art facility, our experts opened the storage device for a surgical procedure. Regardless of the severity of the damage, the data was cloned to a donor drive. The donor drive was sent to the logical team for data recovery.

Step 1: Controller Compatibility Resolution

In the logical lab it was discovered that the data was cloned in the physical lab is corrupted due to a controller mismatch. Therefore, we reviewed the case again, and re-cloning was done to a new matching donor drive. This time, the data was structurally intact and not corrupted.

Step 2: Data Extraction

In our logical lab, our experts used specialized tools and software to extract data. Even though we have advanced software, we manually extracted pieces of the data and then put them back together in binary code. Then we reconstructed the files and folders from scratch.

Step 3: Data Verification

Once we are done with retrieving the required data, we make a directory out of it. The directory listing was verified by the client. Upon his verification, we restored the recovered data to its original condition at a new location.

The Bottom Line

This is one of the many cases where we successfully recovered majority of the data. The highlight of the case was that despite severe physical damage and controller-level incompatibilities, Stellar is capable of handling complex data recovery. When other providers failed, our technical expertise could perform hardware-level cloning, compatibility tuning, and deep manual extraction.